A Eurasian weed, locally established at edges of thickets and disturbed, young forests, especially along trails; a yard and garden weed. First collected in Washtenaw Co. by A. A. Reznicek in 1978. A 1927 collection from the University of Michigan Botanical Gardens notes "from Sweden" and may have been from cultivation.

This hybridizes with the native G. canadense to form G. ×catlingii J.-P. Bernard & R. Gauthier, with pale yellow petals (but much longer than those of G. virginianum).